Wow - I am really frustrated

[PPFQP]

I called to book a trip for next summer and was told that since my (twin) daughters will be 15 years old, we have to book two rooms, with one adult and one child in each room. And of course, costing double. They can request rooms near each other, but not guaranteed.

I'm really upset. This is a FAMILY vacation. We want to be together, not split up.

So, obviously this is not for us.

 

[redzinner]

I called to book a trip for next summer and was told that since my (twin) daughters will be 15 years old, we have to book two rooms, with one adult and one child in each room. And of course, costing double. They can request rooms near each other, but not guaranteed.

I'm really upset. This is a FAMILY vacation. We want to be together, not split up.

So, obviously this is not for us.

I'm confused ... how can it cost double if it is advertised as a per person charge?

 

[Tozzie]

I called to book a trip for next summer and was told that since my (twin) daughters will be 15 years old, we have to book two rooms, with one adult and one child in each room. And of course, costing double. They can request rooms near each other, but not guaranteed.

I'm really upset. This is a FAMILY vacation. We want to be together, not split up.

So, obviously this is not for us.

What vacation were you trying to book? Depending on the trip the hotels may not have accomodations for 4 adults in a room. On my trip this year there was a family of 5 and they had connecting rooms.

I don't understand how it is costing double, the costs are per person, the only time it costs more than the list prices is when a person is single.

 

[PPFQP]

The agent I spoke with made it sound like it would cost more because we had to have two rooms. I didn't ask her to price it out both ways, I just made the assumption. She gave me the price per room, not per person.

The bottom line is that this is not family friendly for families with teens. My husband and I do not want to have to split up and stay in separate rooms. Nor would we ever consider having our daughters stay in a room on their own.

It's not that the rooms can't accommodate 4 people - they can, and they would if my daughters were 14 years old instead of 15. (The woman did make it clear that this was the case only on European tours; in other places, the cutoff age is 18)

We're going to pass. There are other ways to see Europe. I am sure that we would have appreciated the Disney touch, but these trips seem to be better suited for families with younger children.

 

[cquick]

The agent I spoke with made it sound like it would cost more because we had to have two rooms. I didn't ask her to price it out both ways, I just made the assumption. She gave me the price per room, not per person.

The bottom line is that this is not family friendly for families with teens. My husband and I do not want to have to split up and stay in separate rooms. Nor would we ever consider having our daughters stay in a room on their own.

It's not that the rooms can't accommodate 4 people - they can, and they would if my daughters were 14 years old instead of 15. (The woman did make it clear that this was the case only on European tours; in other places, the cutoff age is 18)

We're going to pass. There are other ways to see Europe. I am sure that we would have appreciated the Disney touch, but these trips seem to be better suited for families with younger children.

If these were hotels in Europe,they have different rules than we have here in the US. Usually the rooms don't accommodate 4 people, unless it's a specific "family" room. You might find these more often at B&B's. And the beds are usually smaller than regular ones for little kids. If the price is PER PERSON and you have to have 2 rooms, go ahead and book it as if one of the adults will be sharing with the teenagers, but when you go to bed, just sleep wherever you want......nobody will check!

 

[cquick]

I called to book a trip for next summer and was told that since my (twin) daughters will be 15 years old, we have to book two rooms, with one adult and one child in each room. And of course, costing double. They can request rooms near each other, but not guaranteed.

I'm really upset. This is a FAMILY vacation. We want to be together, not split up.

So, obviously this is not for us.

What adventure were you booking? Also, was this during the Disney Adventure, or was this an add-on stay?

 

[GirlfromTN]

Wouldn't you want to have an extra bathroom and extra beds since there will be 2 teenagers and 2 adults?? The hotel rooms in Europe are generally TINY.

 

[PPFQP]

It was the Alpine adventure. But the agent said that was the case for the other European itineraries also.

The critical point is the age of my girls -- they will be 15. If they were 14+364 days, we could be in one room. But because they will have turned 15, it has to be two rooms.

In reading the fine print on the website, it does address this -- but does not mention the age limit. "Parties of four have the choice of booking as a quad or as two doubles" -- but we don't have a choice. Because of their age, we have to book as two doubles, and the price does go up because of that (not double in price - sorry I mispoke about that in my initial post), but it is more expensive.

 

[clarabelle]

Are you sure?
I went on an ABD in June to Ireland. We got two rooms and the price was no more than if we had one room. We were delighted not to have to share a bathroom. You are not in the rooms that much. There is plenty of time for togetherness. We went between the two rooms at will.

I am not trying to talk you into an ABD. But I am not sure this is the issue you are making it out to be.

 

[PPFQP]

Are you sure?
I went on an ABD in June to Ireland. We got two rooms and the price was no more than if we had one room. We were delighted not to have to share a bathroom. You are not in the rooms that much. There is plenty of time for togetherness. We went between the two rooms at will.

I am not trying to talk you into an ABD. But I am not sure this is the issue you are making it out to be.

Were your rooms connecting? Or near each other? How did you split the family between the two rooms? The agent I spoke to confirmed that it would cost more to have two rooms - she didn't tell me exactly how much, but that it was definitely more.

It just doesn't feel right to me. I don't want my family split into two rooms, unless they were guaranteed connecting. I don't like having to pay more for two rooms when we'd prefer one. We should have planned a trip when my kids were younger and this restriction wouldn't apply.

We've already decided this is not the right vacation for us. We're going to do a Mediterranean cruise instead. For all four of us, it is $4000 - only slightly less than the cost of ONE person on the ABD trip. (not Disney cruise - they are not doing the Med during the time period that we want to travel)

Thanks everyone for your help in answering my questions on ABD - I've enjoyed reading the trip reports. Best wishes!

 

[figmentfan2009]

We had similar arrangement when we went to china. The price isn't doubled... it is the same per person price, they just put us in two rooms and gave us two reservation numbers. The rooms were connecting except at the Hotel of Modern Art and Disney Land Hotel where they didn't have connectings. It actually worked out better this way, we had 2 bathrooms and the space in the hotel rooms would not have been condusive to extra bed.

I would check again to see what the double cost is... They charged us for the cost of the trip with the exception of our extra day (which was a charge for two rooms, not per person)

 

[clarabelle]

Yes they were always connecting. If they had not been we would have split into DH and DD and Me and other DD.

There was one family that did not get connecting for one night -but they had it the rest of the trip.

I hope you enjoy your cruise.
Who did you book that with? I am always interesting in hearing about other peoples trips!

 

[PPFQP]

I hope you enjoy your cruise.
Who did you book that with? I am always interesting in hearing about other peoples trips!

Thanks : )
It is Royal Caribbean on the Navigator of the Seas. We've cruised with them before (as well as on DCL), and enjoyed it. This will allow us to get a little taste of Europe before we return to Rome and spend a week with our friends that live there.

We had hoped to do an ABD trip and then visit our friends, but this will work better for the dates we want AND be heckuvalot cheaper.

 

[hoffman]

We Love our kids(25th ann,and they made the trip too) but one of the greatest thing abt Our Costa Rica trip was having separate rooms(3 diff hotels)---for obvious reasons.Yer not going to be spending much time in yer rooms anyways,I would hope.We Were charged per person,and our rooms were always right next to each other or across the hall.My wife and I agreed it was awesome,I think it made our trip better.Kids are 15 and 14---good luck.

 

[disneylove69]

Wouldn't you want to have an extra bathroom and extra beds since there will be 2 teenagers and 2 adults?? The hotel rooms in Europe are generally TINY.

I stayed in European hotels and many had twin beds and no room for more then two people. Think cruise line room.

 

[PPFQP]

I stayed in European hotels and many had twin beds and no room for more then two people. Think cruise line room.

I am thinking cruise line room... that's why we're booking a Med cruise for 1/4 of the price of an ABD trip.